Category Archives: Badgers

Badger cull may have increased bovine TB risk in neighbouring herds – study

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England’s controversial eradication scheme may have caused higher rates of disease in surrounding areas, research shows

England’s controversial badger cull may have increased the risk of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) among herds in neighbouring areas, according to new research.

Researchers at the University of Oxford found that although badger culling reduced incidences of tuberculosis in the areas where it took place, in neighbouring areas the risk of the disease in cattle increased by almost a third.

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Tory environment select committee chair told to quit over ties to lobby group

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Campaigners call for Sir Robert Goodwill to resign as Guardian reveals he is also head of ‘destructive’ rural pressure group that backs trophy hunting

The Conservative chair of the environment select committee has been urged to resign as the Guardian revealed he is also chair of a group endorsing nature policies described by critics as “destructive and dangerous”.

Sir Robert Goodwill, who chairs the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) select committee (Efra), is tasked with holding the environment secretary to account on nature and environmental targets. He became chair of the committee after his predecessor, Neil Parish, resigned after a pornography scandal.

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Burrowing badgers halt train services in the Netherlands

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Dutch authorities try to tempt out animals, which dig setts under quiet and raised train embankments

Leaves on the tracks, signal failures and strikes can all cause train delay headaches, but commuters in the Netherlands are facing railway havoc caused by badgers burrowing under the lines, with authorities struggling to tempt the protected animals out.

In the densely populated country, there is limited natural space for the country’s 7,000 badgers. They often dig out their homes, or setts, under relatively “quiet” train embankments, which are ideally situated away from people and also slightly raised, which prevents the sett from flooding.

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Hungry badger may have uncovered Roman coins in Spanish cave

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The ‘exceptional find’ was discovered only feet from a badger’s den in the northern region of Asturias

A trove of 209 Roman coins in a cave in northern Spain – hailed by researchers as an “exceptional find” – is believed to have been uncovered by a badger desperately foraging for food.

The coins, dating from between the third and fifth century AD, were spotted in a cave in the municipality of Grado in the northern region of Asturias. They were found mere feet from the den of a badger, months after Storm Filomena dumped heavy snow across swaths of the country.

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‘Are they mean?’ Donald Trump obsessed with badgers, new book claims

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Daily Beast reporters say Reince Priebus was repeatedly asked about the rotund, hairy omnivores during briefings on healthcare and foreign policy

Of all the topics to occupy the mind of the most powerful person in the United States, one would not expect badgers to make a frequent appearance.

But the rotund, hairy omnivores were apparently an alarmingly regular topic of conversation in the White House during the early months of Donald Trump’s presidency, according to Daily Beast reporters Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng.

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Court to probe Carrie Symonds’ influence on PM after cancellation of badger cull

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Boris Johnson’s partner and animal rights activist was briefed by Badger Trust weeks before the policy was changed

The influence exerted on the prime minister by his partner, Carrie Symonds, will be explored in court after permission was granted last week for a judicial review into how the government came to pull a cull on badgers in Derbyshire.

The case could embarrass Boris Johnson and raise questions about the government’s willingness to listen to its advisers when formulating policy.

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Greenpeace included with neo-Nazis on UK counter-terror list

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Exclusive: Extinction Rebellion and Peta also named in anti-extremism briefing alongside Combat 18 and National Action

A counter-terrorism police document distributed to medical staff and teachers as part of anti-extremism briefings included Greenpeace, Peta and other non-violent groups as well as neo-Nazis, the Guardian has learned.

The guide, produced by Counter Terrorism Policing, is used across England as part of training for Prevent, the anti-radicalisation scheme designed to catch those at risk of committing terrorist violence.

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